Jamiat hails Saudi govt's decision to hold Haj with 'limited people'

In a statement, Jamiat chief Maulana Arshad Madani said it is commendable that the Saudi government has not suspended Haj and will allow a limited number of people living there to perform the pilgrimage. As the coronavirus outbreak has become a pandemic, the rules of physical distancing have limited many things, he said.

Prominent Muslim body Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Wednesday hailed Saudi Arabia's decision to go ahead with Haj 2020 with a limited number of people, saying it has come as a relief for Muslims who were fearing that it will be altogether suspended in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, Jamiat chief Maulana Arshad Madani said it is commendable that the Saudi government has not suspended Haj and will allow a limited number of people living there to perform the pilgrimage.

As the coronavirus outbreak has become a pandemic, the rules of physical distancing have limited many things, he said. Madani said after health experts advised people not to gather in one place, the Saudi government had to take this decision, which has removed the fears in the hearts of the people regarding Haj being suspended. Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had said on Tuesday that the government has decided that Muslims from India will not travel to Saudi Arabia for Haj 2020 after the kingdom conveyed that pilgrims should not be sent this year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Saudi Arabia on Monday said it has barred international visitors from making the Islamic pilgrimage, in a bid to control the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Haj and Umrah said that due to coronavirus pandemic and the risks of it spreading in crowded spaces and large gatherings, it has been decided that Haj for this year will be held whereby a "very limited number" of pilgrims from various nationalities who already reside in Saudi Arabia, would be able to perform it.